John Ford's 1945 picture, nominated for two Academy Awards, stars Robert Montgomery and John Wayne as PT boat commanders in the Philippines in the months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Frustrated with the Navy's reluctance to consider their small, fast patrol boats as true fighting craft, the two men finally have a chance to prove their worth to their superiors in protecting the islands during the coming Japanese invasion. The film is based on William L. White's book of the same name about PT boat squadron commander and Medal of Honor recipient John D. Bulkeley and skipper Robert Kelly, and is highly regarded for its realism and historical authenticity.